The UK Spouse Visa allows foreign spouses married to British Nationals to enter England without having to first secure a UK spouse visa. This means that individuals on the Spouse Visa can live in the UK while they seek residence under another category. If you wanted to remain in the UK permanently, then you may apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at any time.

The spousal visa in the UK is available for the foreign nationals who want to live in the UK with their spouse, partner or fiancé. The applicant can apply for a visa that is valid for different durations, depending on the applicants’ family circumstances. If a couple is married and one of them is living in the UK, then the other one may be able to come over and live with him/her without applying for a separate visa. This option is available only if both partners are over 18 years of age. There are many other situations in which this passport holder would not have to apply for a separate visa or could be considered for entry clearance under another category. The applicant has to prove that he/she intends to live as a married couple during the period of his stay in the UK.

Renew Spouse Visa In Uk

Many people who are married do not know about the opportunity to change their non-European partner’s visa and therefore stay with them in the UK. They believe that the first thing should be to apply for divorce, because they believe that a decision on your divorce will affect the outcome of a visa application and deportation.

Table of Contents

Overview

You need a family visa to live with a family member in the UK for more than 6 months.

Applying from outside the UK

You can apply for a family visa to live with your:

spouse or partner
fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner
child
parent
relative who’ll provide long-term care for you

If you’re visiting the UK for 6 months or less, check if you need a Standard Visitor visa or Marriage Visitor visa.

Extending your family visa

You can apply to extend your stay with your family member if you’re already in the UK on a family visa.

You can extend at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.

If you’re extending to stay with the same family member, you’ll only get up to 28 days left on your current stay added to your new visa.

You must live in the UK for a certain amount of time before you’re eligible for settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’). Before you extend your visa, check how much time you need to settle in the UK.

You might be able to apply to stay on the basis of your private life if you’ve lived in the UK for many years already.

Switching to a family visa

If you came to the UK on a different visa, you might be able to switch to a family visa to stay with your:

spouse or partner
child
parent

You can switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.

Fees

How much it costs depends on how you apply.

	Apply outside the UK	Apply in the UK
Cost if joining your partner, parent or child	£1,538	£1,048
Cost for each dependant added to your application	£1,538 each person	£1,048 each person
Cost for an adult who needs to be looked after by a relative	£3,250	£1,048

Let your bank know that a large amount of money will be coming out of your account – otherwise it might cancel your payment.

Healthcare surcharge

You might also need to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.

For each adult (18 or older) it costs:

£1,560 if you’re staying for 2 years and 6 months
£1,872 if you’re staying for 2 years and 9 months
£3,120 if you’re staying for 5 years

For each child (under 18), it costs:

£1,175 if you’re staying for 2 years and 6 months
£1,410 if you’re staying for 2 years and 9 months
£2,350 if you’re staying for 5 years

Get a faster decision on your application

If you’re applying from the UK, you may be able to pay an extra £800 for the super priority service to get a faster decision.

You cannot use the super priority service if you’re applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative.

Once you’ve got your decision letter, your biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive.

How long it takes

If you apply outside the UK a decision will usually be made within 24 weeks.

If you apply in the UK a decision will usually be made within 8 weeks of your application date if you use the standard service.

If you use the super priority service a decision will usually be made:

by the end of the next working day after providing your biometric information if your appointment is on a weekday
2 working days after providing your biometric information if your appointment is at the weekend

Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays.

It might take longer if your application is complex, for example you:

do not meet the minimum income requirement
cannot prove your knowledge of English
need to attend an interview
have not provided all the evidence that the Home Office needs
have a criminal conviction or another personal circumstance that needs to be reviewed

Other ways you can stay

You were the victim of domestic abuse or your partner died

You might be able to apply to settle in the UK if you had permission to stay in the UK as a partner when either:

you were the victim of domestic abuse
your partner died

Your family member has refugee status or humanitarian protection

You might be able to apply for ‘family reunion’ to join a partner or parent who has either:

refugee status in the UK
humanitarian protection in the UK

If you or your family are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein

If you or a close family member started living in the UK before 1 January 2021, you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme. Otherwise you need a visa or family permit to come to the UK.

Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.

When you cannot get a family visa

In some circumstances you cannot apply for, or switch to, a family visa.

Your family member has a work visa or student visa

You cannot apply for a family visa if your family member is in the UK temporarily on a work visa or student visa.

You can apply to stay with them as a dependant instead.

You have a visitor visa or a visa for 6 months or less

You’ll usually need to leave the UK to apply for a family visa if either:

you have permission to be in the UK as a visitor
your visa is for 6 months or less

However, you might be able to switch to a family visa in the UK if you have either:

a 6-month family visa as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner
permission to stay in the UK for the outcome of a family court case or divorce